(Helmond 1524–1581 Antwerp)
The Virgin and Child in an extensive landscape, with a town beyond,
oil on panel, 47.5 x 35 cm, unframed

Provenance:
Private collection, Spain

The present painting derives from a drawing by an anonymous artist conserved in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (Inv. no. N 9 (PK)), after a now lost prototype by the Burgundian Court painter Rogier van der Weyden (1400–1464). In this panel, the Virgin Mary is seated at the base of a richly foliated tree with the Christ Child resting in her arms, playing with a goldfinch that has landed on the Child’s outstretched fingers. The visual appeal of this humble and tender scene is elevated by the verdant, panoramic landscape that extends far beyond, interspersed with towering churches, fortified castles and a meandering river receding into the distance.

Marcellus Coffermans’ paintings disclose a great indebtedness to the so-called Flemish Primitives, including Rogier van der Weyden, Gerard David, Colijn de Coter, and Adriaen Isenbrandt, among others. By frequently repeating compositions from old models found in drawings and paintings that were familiar to him, Coffermans was able to respond well to the demand for his devotional paintings – especially in Spain where a fruitful trade emerged between his Spanish patrons and the painter’s workshop. Coffermans worked in Antwerp during the mid-sixteenth century, becoming a master painter there in 1549, when he registered as such with the painter’s Guild of Saint Luke.